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My email to Jay Mariotti


YASNY

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I was disappointed in his response due to the fact that he chose to be a smart-ass and failed to respond to the issue I presented to him. I've decided that I'll respond to him with the following:

 

Do you really think so? Have you ever visited soxtalk.com? I suggest you take a peek.

 

 

 

Of course, we all know he gets a portion of his material directly from this site. :lol:

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Speaking of Mariotti, since evey1 luvs him so much, here's his latest piece of work on Happy Frank,

 

Are we absolutely certain this wasn't an imposter at work, a body double posing as Frank Thomas? He couldn't possibly have arrived Tuesday in White Sox camp, a day early, with a smile we didn't know existed. Given his history of February acrimony, you figured the Arizona cacti would giggle before he showed up in a merry mood and broke bread with his chirpy new manager.

 

 

 

Yet there they were, The Big Blurt and The Blizzard of Oz, getting along just fine on the same grounds where Thomas once refused to perform a shuttle drill, quit spring training for six days because he felt underpaid at $10million and stormed off in his car while general manager Ken Williams ran after him in the parking lot. Blown away by this unexpected display of camaraderie, I have a request.

 

Might they freeze the picture, hold those grins and make a beautiful moment last until October? Or are we just fooling ourselves that bliss between Thomas and Ozzie Guillen -- and all others in the Sox clubhouse, for that matter -- could be anything but temporary?

 

"Please spread the word: There are no fights going on in here,'' Thomas told Sox beat reporters of his bond with Guillen. "Nobody is [ticked] off at each other, and there is no hatred going on. It's just not happening. I'm in a great mood.''

 

One reason to buy into his good cheer: Jerry Manuel no longer is managing. "What is great about this is that I have a better relationship with Ozzie than I ever had with Jerry Manuel because I spent eight years with Ozzie,'' said Thomas, referring to their seasons as Sox teammates. "Jerry was a great guy, but it's not the same [bond] that Ozzie and I have shared in this locker room. I did a lot of winning with him.''

 

While most media were up Interstate 10 in Mesa capturing wild developments in Cubdom -- sorry, it can't get any weirder than Dusty Baker comparing the steroid probe to "McCarthyism'' while Sammy Sosa arrived raising his hands and chanting, "Thank you, Jesus!'' -- Thomas sneaked into Tucson under the radar screen. Rather incredibly, he claimed not to be bothered by criticism leveled by Guillen the day he was hired as Manuel's replacement. The words were harsh and ill-timed, with Ozzie warning Thomas to be a team player and leave his ego at home. When Thomas didn't return any of Guillen's phone calls over the winter, or those of Williams, we assumed a petulant pinhead was bitter as usual.

 

Not so, he says. Perhaps he was angry and managed to get over it, finally flashing signs of maturity at 36. But for now, anyway, Thomas sounds like the emcee of Ozfest in pledging support for Guillen. It's a wise, responsible approach for a man whose Hall of Fame chances demand that he behave himself and continue to produce impressive power numbers, such as his 42 home runs and 105 RBI last season. Time was when Guillen, as the feisty Sox shortstop, used to love agitating Thomas by making fun of his weight and obsession with personal statistics. Apparently, Frank has forgiven him. All that was missing, as he left Guillen's office, was a boom box playing the "Barney'' theme song. I love you, you love me, we're a happy family.

 

Frank, in a great mood? Frank, happy with his life? Knowing the problems he has endured -- a messy divorce, business failures, a fall from professional grace, pariah status in Chicago -- maybe Thomas is ready to grow up and stop being his own worst enemy. After winning back-to-back American League MVP awards in the early '90s and appearing ready to rule the town, he tumbled into public-relations hell and dragged the franchise with him. When he wasn't squabbling with respected mates such as Robin Ventura and Paul Konerko, he was complaining about contractual clauses to which he put a pen. When he wasn't leaving an All-Star Game before it was over, he was saying dumb things about subjects ranging from the Sox-Cubs culture to even Jackie Robinson. He became a national laughingstock three years ago, when he arrived at spring training bristling over Alex Rodriguez's new contract and said, "I'm not even probably in the top 50. I do have a problem with that. You can't have A-Rod making $25million and we're coming in at $7, $8, $9 million.''

 

But Thomas, who has settled into an offseason Las Vegas lifestyle that involves his share of casinos, seems to have compromised with his sensitive side. Last year, it was no coincidence he enjoyed a big season while avoiding clubhouse incidents. The same focus is necessary this season, not only for his mental well-being, but also for the good of a payroll-challenged offense stuck with too many automatic outs. Sure, he should have returned the calls of his bosses, if only to calm down media and fans suspicious that Thomas was wigging out again. But there's apparently only so much cooperation one can expect from the man, even when he's in a Good Frank mode.

 

Quicker than you could say "spin control,'' any talk of trading Thomas was quelled. Rather than battle the new boss, the resident problem child is meeting him halfway. We would like to think the seeds have been planted for a fruitful reunion. "Frank is my man,'' Guillen said.

 

But we're not stupid. The only thing longer than a baseball season are the odds that Frank Thomas will remain a happy camper.

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Just for fun, allow me to defend Mariotti for a moment......

 

First of all, I thought his repsonse to you Yas, was bush league. Perhaps you just caught him in a mood or he didn't want to get into an email battle with a Sox fan who would never see his point of view, I don't know.

 

But Mariotti is a columnist, not a reporter. In the newspaper world, there is a difference. Columnists cannot write fluff piece after fluff piece and retain readership. Part of what makes a great columnist is the fact that many of his readers hate what he writes. The key is, they keep reading it.

 

So don't take it so personally, when he picks on Frank or the Sox. Whether he truly believes everything he writes or not is not relevant. Getting a rise out of people and making people think about and react to his stories is his job. That is what he is paid to do. This is quite common in the industry in cities all over the country.

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Just for fun, allow me to defend Mariotti for a moment......

 

First of all, I thought his repsonse to you Yas, was bush league.  Perhaps you just caught him in a mood or he didn't want to get into an email battle with a Sox fan who would never see his point of view, I don't know.

 

But Mariotti is a columnist, not a reporter.  In the newspaper world, there is a difference.  Columnists cannot write fluff piece after fluff piece and retain readership.  Part of what makes a great columnist is the fact that many of his readers hate what he writes.  The key is, they keep reading it. 

 

So don't take it so personally, when he picks on Frank or the Sox.  Whether he truly believes everything he writes or not is not relevant.  Getting a rise out of people and making people think about and react to his stories is his job.  That is what he is paid to do.  This is quite common in the industry in cities all over the country.

Rex, I'm fully aware that JM is a columnist. In fact, if you read the text of my email, the column I was writing him about was refered to as a "column" several times. I also understand that he can't write just fluff pieces. But this guy thinks Sosa hung the moon, and Frank is rat crap. His columns, over the long haul reflect that. I just took the opportunity to point that out to him.

 

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on the response to me. He is, I'm sure, a very busy man.

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Rex, I'm fully aware that JM is a columnist.  In fact, if you read the text of my email, the column I was writing him about was refered to as a "column" several times.  I also understand that he can't write just fluff pieces.  But this guy thinks Sosa hung the moon, and Frank is rat crap.  His columns, over the long haul reflect that.  I just took the opportunity to point that out to him. 

 

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on the response to me.  He is, I'm sure, a very busy man.

Yas, my post was directed more toward the masses. Your email to him was great. You presented a point of view in a professional way. I was very disappointed in his response to you.

 

I just think Sox fans take what he writes too personally and think he is the scourge of the earth for doing so. If someone has a beef with a guy, they should handle it with class as you did. There is a difference in arguing a point versus attacking someone's name and character because you don't like what he writes. Then again, that is probably the reaction he was hoping for....

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Yas, my post was directed more toward the masses.  Your email to him was great.  You presented a point of view in a professional way.  I was very disappointed in his response to you.

 

I just think Sox fans take what he writes too personally and think he is the scourge of the earth for doing so.  If someone has a beef with a guy, they should handle it with class as you did.  There is a difference in arguing a point versus attacking someone's name and character because you don't like what he writes.  Then again, that is probably the reaction he was hoping for....

You may have a point, but I didn't take the bait.

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Dear Kotex Boy,

 

:fyou  :fyou  :fyou  :fyou  :fyou

 

Sincerely,

 

Sox fans in Central Illinois

 

P.S.

 

:fyou

as a fellow sox fan in central illinois i would like to add another :fyou to Kotex Boy.

 

oh and a couple :finger :finger while i'm at it.

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